SOUTH DEERFIELD, MA — Students in the Frontier Regional and Union 38 School District will be going home a bit earlier on Fridays next year. The regional and elementary school committees approved an early release schedule at a joint meeting Thursday night that would provide more time for professional development among the staff.

The plan would also save the district money — about $12,000 each year — by reducing the amount of substitute teachers it would need to hire to fill in for teacher who left their classrooms to participate in trainings and workshop, since all that work would be done on Fridays.